Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-19

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The charts below show the changes in ownership of electrical appliances and amount of time spent doing housework in households in one country between 1920 and 2019.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Percentage of households with electrical appliances (1920-2019)

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The line graph illustrates how household ownership of electrical appliances and the time spent on housework changed in a particular country over the period from 1920 to 2019.

overall, the proportion of households owning refrigerators and vacuum cleaners increased significantly, while washing machine ownership flunctuated over the period. By contrast, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners had become widely owned.

In 1920, the percentage of households with refrigerator stood at 0%, before rising to approximately 55% in 1940. This figure then increased to 90% in 1960, before increasing by 10 percentage point in1980. meanwhile, vacuum cleaner ownership recorded 30

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the two broad trends: appliance ownership generally rose, while time spent on housework fell. However, the report is incomplete and does not cover the full set of key features. It stops partway through the vacuum-cleaner figures, gives no account of washing-machine ownership or the housework-hours trend, and offers no concluding overview of the main comparisons. The statement that refrigerator ownership began at 0% is also inaccurate; the chart shows about 2%, a small difference, but the larger issue is the missing data and comparisons. The response is 53 words below the required minimum, which contributes to its limited coverage. To improve, complete the summary and report the main trends across all four series.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt at organisation: an introduction is followed by an overview and then a detail paragraph, and the opening sentence clearly establishes the topic and period. However, progression breaks down because the final paragraph ends abruptly at “vacuum cleaner ownership recorded 30,” leaving the comparison unfinished. The overview also repeats the idea of widespread ownership without explaining the contrast with declining housework time. Linking words such as “before” and “while” are used to show sequence and contrast, but the relationships between all the chart features are not developed. Use complete paragraphs, group appliance trends together, and give the housework series its own comparison so the reader can follow the full account.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is adequate for describing a line graph, with relevant expressions such as “household ownership,” “increased significantly,” “approximately,” and “percentage point.” These choices make the topic understandable, and you attempt some variation rather than relying only on “went up.” There are, however, a few inaccurate or awkward forms: “flunctuated” is misspelled, “with refrigerator” needs a more natural construction, and “increased by 10 percentage point” has an incorrect plural form. “Widely owned” is understandable but could be more precise when describing the proportion of households. Continue using trend vocabulary, while checking spelling and collocations and choosing terms that accurately describe the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including a clear opening sentence and a sequence with “before rising” and “before increasing.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors are present. For example, “the percentage of households with refrigerator stood” is missing an article or plural form, and “in 1980” is joined to the preceding number without a space. The sentence beginning “This figure then increased…” is structurally sound, but the response ends with an incomplete clause: “vacuum cleaner ownership recorded 30.” Capitalisation is also inconsistent at the start of “overall” and “meanwhile.” Aim to complete each sentence and proofread articles, plurals, punctuation, and sentence boundaries.

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